Andy Powell’s fighting for his last chance with Wales

Revitalised Andy Powell wants to stake a claim for a place in the Wales squad at next year’s Rugby World Cup by helping to “put Gwent Dragons back on the map”.
Powell, 33, last represented his country against Scotland in February 2012 before falling out of favour and then opting for a stint in Rugby League with Wigan.
But a torrid 15 months saw his appearances restricted by a neck injury while lurid details of his turbulent on-off relationship with wife Natasha Gascoine were splashed over social media and the tabloid Press.
At one time his angry wife placed some of his possessions on eBay.
Happily the couple are reunited and, with his first child on the way, former Cardiff, Wasps and Sale back rower Powell insists life is back on track and that he now wants his rugby to do the talking at the club where he began his career.
“It’s good to be back where I started and to mix with all the new faces and get some partnerships working again,” Powell told The Rugby Paper.
“People say it didn’t go as well as I wanted in League, but I got into Wigan’s first team, which was good considering I’d never played the game before.
“Unfortunately I did my neck in but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience  and I’m glad I had a go. I did it to try for last year’s League World Cup and to be an international dual-coder, but I got injured and that was that.
“But things sometimes happen for a reason and my focus now is on the Dragons. I feel fresh and we’ve got a pretty good mix of youth and experience so I’ll work hard and it’s time to put Gwent Dragons back on the map. My objective is to start, be in the first team and for us to be in the top six, and, at 33, I still feel there’s a lot more to come.
“My ambition is to keep my position in the Dragons’ squad and if everything goes well, you never say never beyond that with Wales.
“I know what I’m like when I get back to full fitness, I’ll start running my hard lines and go for it.
“That’s the goal, but my priority right now is keeping my head down, doing the basics right with Newport and showing people I’ve changed.”
Of the tabloid headlines and social media campaigns that dogged him, Powell says: “There’s been a lot of paper talk but it’s calmed down and I’ve got my head around it.
“We’ve got a nipper on the way and it doesn’t bother me what people say. They can slag me off but as my old man says, if people are talking about me negatively it means they’ve got nothing better to do in their lives.
“I don’t slag anybody off, all I want to do now is channel everything into rugby and my family.”
Dragons head coach Kingsley Jones has identified Powell and fellow British Lions Lee Byrne and Taulupe Faletau as key leaders for his team – a responsibility Powell is keen to accept.
He said: “I’ve played at a high standard and I can point things out to people in training and on the field. But I’m quite easy going and there’s no point putting too much pressure on the youngsters.”
Powell enjoyed his first 15-a-side run out in last week’s friendly against Bristol, adding: “I didn’t do anything for eight months and had a 12-week pre-season, so I’m happy with where I’m at.
“I’ve always had pretty good hands and I showed a bit of that in my 40 minutes against Bristol, but it’ll take a couple more weeks to get fully up to speed.
“I’m 18st 7lbs at the moment so if I can lose half-a-stone I’ll be back to full speed. We’re building nicely, we’ve got a great coaching team led by Lyn Jones and Kingsley and I think we’re going to go really well.”
NEALE HARVEY
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on August 24.